You've Got To Be Carefully Taught

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In Vision 2020, the Marianist Province of the US states: “The Society of Mary is experiencing the same diminishment of new members entering the community as has been affecting almost all other religious communities in the Church. In response to this vocational challenge, the Province has developed a number of programs that have put focus on developing a vocation culture, e.g., establishment of inviting communities, vocation retreats, vocation summits, etc. These efforts have produced some encouraging results. Yet we are not recruiting new members in the United States at a rate that would allow us to continue many of our traditional ministries. The new members being recruited come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and are at different stages in their human and professional development and religious formation.” (Vision 2020, pp. 62-63).

In the Mission Statement of the Marianist Province of the US it is stated: “Wherever we are sent we invite others to share in Mary’s Mission of making Christ present in every age and culture by forming persons and communities of apostolic faith that advance justice and reconciliation. Committed to education, we minister with youth and in solidarity with the poor. Wherever we are sent we invite others to share in Mary’s Mission of making Christ present in every age and culture by forming persons and communities of apostolic faith that advance justice and reconciliation. Committed to education, we minister with youth and in solidarity with the poor.”

Introduction

It seems Marianists are committed to making Christ present to every age and culture. Having knowledge of some of the cultures found in the United States would assist in ministry and our vocation efforts. The Society of Mary would do well to gather knowledge of the ethnic backgrounds of peoples in the ministries we serve to serve them better and be inviting as to a possible religious vocation. Marianists (lay and religious) working in the United States having an effectual knowledge of the traits of different ethnicities would better assist with all cultures to develop a wholesome American Catholic Church. The reason for writing this essay is to share experiences, thoughts, and impressions with Marianists who are concerned with involving themselves with the emerging multicultural faces of America. Cultural characteristics inherent in the behavior of Anglo-Americans and several immigrant peoples will be described.

A quiet revolution has been taking place today across the United States. The country is changing color. In 1949, Rodgers and Hammerstein exposed the world and particularly the United States to racism in a musical called South Pacific. There was a tune having very catchy, poignant lyrics: You've got to be taught to hate and fear, you've got to be taught from year to year, it's got to be drummed in your dear little ear. You've got to be carefully taught. You've got to be taught to be afraid of people whose eyes are oddly made, and people whose skin is a diff'rent shade. You've got to be carefully taught. You've got to be taught before it's too late, before you are six or seven or eight, to hate all the people your relatives hate. You've got to be carefully taught! If we have been carefully taught, let‘s break this chain and carefully teach people who they are and how we can all get along.

A report to the membership of the Four Uniting Provinces of the Society of Mary (TCC, 2001) stated, ―Marianists need to know well the culture of our times and to develop the skills to be a positive force within it, so that our charism can be most effectively and realistically shared." If Marianists are to have influence in this emerging nation of ours, we have to look at who we are and whom we are attempting to influence. More than ever before, the hallmark of American Catholicism is diversity—in ethnic heritage, social class, family structure, educational level, spiritual formation and theological orientation. In examining the present Catholic community, affluence, achievement, and personal autonomy color the perceptions and religious attitudes of the largest group of American Catholics united by a common language (English), race (Caucasian) and ancestry (European). White middle- and upper middle-class Catholics currently make up the majority of American Catholics (Appleby, 2000). This is who we are, but with whom are we to be working for the rest of the twenty-first century?

The country is changing its color. According to the 2000 US Census, the Latino community has blossomed from 22.4 million persons in 1990 to 35.3 million in 2000. It was to surpass the African-American community (36.4 million) as the largest minority group in the United States. Latinos are already the largest minority in 23 states (Espinosa, Elizondo, Miranda, 2003). Public school enrollments will continue to diversify. In California, for example, between 1997 and 2007, numbers of white students were expected to decline by 16 percent while other groups will increase by the following percentages: Hispanic (35%), Pacific Islander (30%), and Asian (15%). These trends reflect population changes throughout the state where now no ethnic group constitutes a majority of California's population (CDE, 2000). Further change will probably be revealed with the results of the 2010 census.

In the past, most often Americans were educated in schools where the curriculum was white, Anglo-American, as was generally the ethnic culture. People of color may have learned something about their heritage, but this is probably doubtful because the books were written for an Anglo-American audience. Teachers, parents, and members of the clergy should consider this fact before confronting young people. Once a young person has formed a negative image of him or her self, the task of the minister and/or teacher becomes extremely difficult. Therefore, the prevention of negative self-concepts is a vital first step in working with young people (Purkey, 1970). Remember, they’ve got to be carefully taught. Some teachers and ministers who work in predominantly white neighborhoods often state that they do not have a need for an appreciation of multicultural diversity because they have few African-Americans, Hispanic, or Asian-Americans with whom they work. The educators and ministers as well as the students have got to be carefully taught. An appreciation of a particular culture does not require members of that culture to be present. Are we going to continue the chain or break it and begin one that includes a broader vision?

People develop a sense of themselves by reflecting on comments made by persons such as their peers, parents, church members, and teachers. In order for them to grow in a wholesome manner, they first have to feel good about themselves. If they do not have a sense of well-being about themselves, then compliments concerning talents, achievements, qualities, or reflections about themselves personally will not be accepted, and their development as persons will probably be stunted. Ministers also would do well to understand how young people develop a positive concept of themselves. They will assist in this formation by acknowledging that these young people are good persons who have talents and abilities and that their culture can and should be respected as contributors to the society in which we live.

Realistic, positive concepts can be taught. Higuchi (1993) gives herself as an example. She now indicates multicultural education is a means of enabling students to feel comfortable in America. She grew up as a Japanese-American who was raised here in America. Steeped in Japanese tradition at home, as a child her main direct contact with American society at large was school. She did not feel comfortable in America until she was a college student. Her goal for all her students—American born or not, minority or not—is to develop multicultural acceptance, to have them develop strategies to work through their own prejudices and to sustain their own dignity when they become the targets of prejudice. In her classes in 1993, she created a series of multicultural units beginning with "The Japanese: Alike but Different." Her students ate, wrote, read, drew, constructed, discussed, sang, spoke, and danced things Japanese and went to Japanese Town on a field trip. One day later that semester, two of her students were chanting "Death to the Ayatollah" during recess. When she brought the students into her class, she wrote those words on the board. Then she erased "Ayatollah" and wrote "Japanese." She replaced "Japanese" with "American" and finally with "Mexican." "Prejudice must stop with us," she said. They saw where she was going and agreed. Her initial lessons were excellent in teaching the students of one different culture, Japanese, but the students failed to expand their understanding to different ethnicities until she used the chalkboard and brought the fact of differences in culture to their attention. They’ve got to be carefully taught.

1. Anglo-American and Immigrant Cultures

The information contained in this essay is based on the author‘s own personal experiences with Anglo-Americans, African-Americans, Africans, Asian Americans, Indonesians, Hawaiian-Americans, Latinos (the broad Spanish-speaking peoples) and Pacific Islanders in California, Hawaii, Texas, and the Marianas. These interpersonal relations have emphasized customs, values, and the culture of different groupings. Additionally, these resources were used: 1) books written by anthropologists, social scientists, and people writing on topics that stress customs, values, and culture; 2) interviews with different members of ethnic groupings for the purpose of obtaining information on multicultural complexities in their own environment.

1. Acculturation versus Assimilation of Different Cultures
In this "melting pot" of America, a cultural blending between the dominant Anglo-American culture and the immigrant culture could take place, but this is not always the case. Acculturation, a process of intercultural borrowing marked by the continuous transmission of traits and elements between diverse peoples and resulting in new and blended patterns, is different from assimilation in which peoples are drawn into taking the traits of the dominant culture without the blending of the best of both cultures. Acculturation creates a new culture having the blend of the diverse peoples. Assimilation is the absorption of the new culture into the dominant culture with the new member accepting the dominant culture and sacrificing all the native culture from his or her homeland. For example, African-Americans who assimilate Anglo-American cultural patterns are frequently referred to as "Oreos" (black on the outside and white inside). An example of acculturation is given by Tong (1997) who quotes a seventeen-year-old Chinese student, Lily W., "When I first came to New York, I wanted to turn around and go home. After two years in America, I‘m beginning to see a new life. I wonder if I‘ll stay here after college or go back to Hong Kong." Tong, then, comments that Lily, like so many immigrant adolescents, is experiencing the struggle of trying to define a new personal identity in America. Her comments reveal an emotional dilemma wherein she feels torn between loyalties to two culturally different worlds. The quote clearly describes a cultural tension stemming from pride in and attachment to both her native and the Anglo-American cultures. How Lily balances her ethnic loyalties and what happens to her during the time she is working toward finding her cultural voice and identity in America are factors that make the study of the acculturation process so fascinating. The social adaptation of new peoples to America is a complex phenomenon requiring attention not only to the social and psychological adjustments individuals undergo, but also how they use the first and second languages to signal their degree of acculturation to the host culture. Williams and Snipper (1990) describe the adjustment process of immigrant youngsters as living between the values of the new and old cultures, a difficult position indeed.

2. Minority Identity Development Model
Atkinson, Morten, and Sue (1993,1983) proposed a Minority Identity Development model in which five stages of development are presented. These five stages show that minorities may experience struggle and understand themselves in terms of their own culture, the dominant culture, and the oppressive relationship between the two cultures. Although five stages are presented, it is more accurately conceptualized as a continuous process:

Stage One — Conformity: Minority individuals are distinguished by unequivocal preference for dominant cultural values over those of their own culture. Their role models, lifestyles, value systems, etc., all follow the lead of the dominant group. The attitude toward self is one of self-depreciating because they acknowledge their distinguishing physical and/or cultural characteristics consciously as a source of shame.

Stage Two — Dissonant Stage: Cultural confusion and conflict, the minority individual encounters information and/or experiences that are inconsistent with previously accepted values and beliefs, and consequently is led to question and challenge attitudes acquired in the conformity stage. The attitude toward self is a conflict between self-depreciating and self-appreciating attitudes. The individual‘s attitude toward distinguishing physical and/or cultural characteristics is typified by feelings of alternating shame or pride in self.

Stage Three — Resistance and Immersion Stage: The minority individual completely endorses minority-held views and rejects the dominant society and culture. Desire to eliminate oppression of the individual‘s minority group becomes an important motivation. The attitude toward self is now self-appreciating, one of explorer and discoverer of one‘s own ethnic history and culture, seeking out information and artifacts that enhance one‘s sense of identity and worth. Cultural and physical characteristics are now symbols of pride and honor.

Stage Four — Introspection Stage: The minority individual experiences feeling of discontent and discomfort with group views rigidly held in the Resistance and Immersion stage, and diverts attention to notions of greater individual autonomy. The attitude toward self is concerned with a basis of self-appreciation. The individual experiences conflict between notions of responsibility and allegiance to minority group and notions of personal autonomy.

Stage Five — Synergistic Articulation and Awareness Stage: This stage experiences a sense of self-fulfillment with regard to cultural identity. Conflicts and discomforts experienced in the introspection stage have been resolved, allowing greater individual control and flexibility. Desire to eliminate all forms of oppression becomes an important motivation of the individual‘s behavior. The attitude toward self is one of self-appreciation. The individual experiences a strong sense of self-worth, self-confidence and autonomy as the result of having established a personal identity as an individual, a member of a minority group, and/or a member of the dominant culture, a synergistic culture where the whole is greater than its parts.

Minority members may miss the resilience and commitment in human relations to which they are accustomed. Individuals of a particular minority may find it easy to be included in social and academic groups but difficult to be accepted into the inner circles. In education, the participatory atmosphere and relative equality of the classroom is unusual for most minorities. As members of the dominant group contribute to the adjustment of the minority members, the Anglo-Americans can broaden perspectives and learn about themselves. As different minority members help their Anglo-American colleagues to grow and expand horizons, they serve some of their own needs for adjustment to Anglo-American culture. Behavior is ambiguous: the same action may have different meanings in different situations, so that it is necessary to identify the context of behavior and the contingencies of action before one can be armed with prescriptions for specific acts.

Based on Atkinson, Morten, and Sue, one may suggest a person should neither act as Anglo-American, Asian, Hawaiian, Hispanic-American, or Pacific Islander because they state, more logically, this person may adopt a third culture based on expanded multicultural understanding. The dominant culture will also change as it takes on traits of the different minority cultures.

II. Cultural Patterns of Anglo-American and Other Ethnicities

All people, regardless of ethnic background or conditions of life, face a limited number of common human problems: food, shelter, possession of land, clothing, education, and religion. Basically, there are two ways of approaching these fundamental needs, either as an individual person or as a member of a group. In the first way, the person is self-directed and personal achievement is usually valued above family relationships. This approach is valued quite highly in the Anglo-American culture. In the second way, the person is defined in terms of social links, usually obligations with members of the immediate family or an extended group. This approach is valued by many non Anglo-American cultures over the self-directed way. Anglo-Americans are usually concerned with progress, which very often means advances in technology and materialism, and the members of the other cultures are also concerned in these matters, but being new to America, they wish for progress without relinquishing their own cultural values. Frequently, Anglo-Americans are perceived to lack values and culture, seemingly turning their backs on history, custom and tradition that for members of other cultures are the very sources of culture. Why is there such a difference in the Anglo-American and the non-Anglo-American approach to life? Now cultural patterns will be addressed.

1. Thinking Style
Anglo-Americans tend to be logical in their thinking style; cultural norms for them are somewhere between the theoretical and the practical. For them, the world is composed of facts. Thinking is inductive—facts to ideas and concrete to abstract. Anglo-Americans consider a concept as a "construct" or an "invention." This way of thinking produces disciplines in the social science that stress methods.

By contrast, Hispanics as well as many other Europeans have a tradition that evaluates ideas or systems of thought according to "intellectual consistency" or "aesthetic appeal." Their world is composed of ideas and this world attaches primacy and reality to ideas and theories. Deductive and abstract style of thinking gives priority to the world of concepts. In this culture, the individual is defined in terms of the immediate family or the greater extended family. Usually, there is flexibility in time and energy and a commitment to human relations, people are very important. For example, Mexican-Americans will be more concerned with relations between themselves and a friend more than being on time for a meeting to which they are committed. The assumption is that relations are more important than time commitments. To further demonstrate this idea, timepieces are made by Japanese, Germans, and the Swiss, not by Hispanics. Maybe the reason for this phenomenon reflects the relationship between relations and time and which is more important to each different group.

2. Language, Assumptions and Values
Stewart (1972, 1991) states people, members of various cultures, categorize experiences in different ways; this is an essential cultural difference. Anglo-Americans draw a distinction between the subjective and the objective. This differentiation reflects the tendency of English-speaking peoples to make twofold judgments; this is particularly applicable to Anglo-Americans. Anglo-Americans resist describing or judging something in terms of itself or in its own contexts. Instead, they insist on a comparison putting two objects in juxtaposition. "Do you like this movie as well as…?" "Is this as good as that?" Quite often Anglo-Americans make a judgment or justify an action with little reference to external relationships, depending solely on personal preference, i.e., "that‘s good, … or that‘s bad," or "you‘re right, … or you‘re wrong" strictly depending on if you agree with the speaker or not. Anglo-Americans, by their mere presence, suggest implicitly that they are superior to other people. When a person evaluates and justifies through a comparison with Anglo-American norms, it is implicit that Anglo-American standards are better. It is perhaps this tendency that has partly contributed to the Anglo-American reputation for moralizing and arrogance. When Anglo-Americans judge the action as good or bad, the Chinese would look at the same situation and conclude, "That is American" or "that‘s different" rather than "that is bad."

The propensity to make these kinds of judgments is interrelated with the Anglo-American tendency to see the world in terms of black or white. Dichotomies which Anglo-Americans set up are unequal: one element is usually valued more than the other: work-play, good-evil, peace-war, right-wrong, and humanity-nature. Toni Morrison points out in her book, Playing in the Dark (1992), even the absence of blacks in some major works makes a statement about the black presence. Morrison argues that the identity of whites was formed to contrast to the black population. For example, whites were able to describe themselves as free because blacks were enslaved. White was defined as beautiful, and black as ugly.

Elaborate language, complex methods of address, and ritualistic manner are found in Old World cultures reflecting the social structure of the people whereas the average Anglo-American considers formality, style, and protocol as pompous or arrogant. Formalities provide dependable expectations in other cultures of behavior of other persons in social situations. As for example, Koreans will listen and learn who is older and younger than themselves prior to speaking because they have different language structures for those of different ages. In the Anglo-American culture this is quite different; older people would like the younger ones to be more polite to them because of their age and wisdom.

In Old World societies, more kinds of decisions are likely to be made by a group than by a single person making decisions, as in the United States. Many matters that require action by a family or community in the Asian or Hispanic world will be settled by a private decision within Anglo-American societies. If the decision is to be made by a group, the Anglo-American usually will agree to a majority, but Anglo-Americans usually expect to be able to express their opinion and to exert a fair influence in the final decision. So, the value of majority rule is not universally accepted.

3. Forms of Activity
The image of "doing" is the dominant activity for Anglo-Americans. Doing is compatible with other characteristics of Anglo-Americans such as the importance of achievement, emphasis on visible accomplishments, and the stress on measurement. There is an overriding tendency to action. The two assumptions of doing and the value of being active are dominant patterns in Anglo-American life. This notion of "being" is very similar to, if not identical with, self-actualization. One‘s self-esteem may be enhanced (or not) based on one‘s doing a good job or being praised for one‘s work.

For Anglo-Americans, work is pursued for a living, a means of attaining material comfort; it is what one must do and one is not necessarily supposed to enjoy doing it. Hispanics do not usually allow work to interfere with the amenities of living and they are likely to expect Anglo-Americans to integrate their personal lives and work. The Anglo-American concepts of work and action are attached to an orientation toward the future. They may choose a profession for its financial gain over finding any enjoyment in it. An unpleasantness may be connected with work and the stress of doing the work may result in the cultural values of change and progress. Anglo-Americans may work to make money and the money obtained will bring them the joy they seek.

People of Asian or Hispanic traditions take a different view. These values are not part of societies that look either to the present (as in Latin America) or the past (Asia). People from these cultures may choose a profession because they find it fulfilling or because it can bring honor to the family or continuing a family tradition.

4. Motivation
Motives are attributes of individuals that arouse them to action, the reason for doing something. In Anglo-American society, people may well be associated with the phenomenon that the self-images tend to be general and vague. Motivation helps to fill this void, since it is a dynamic concept that associates the self with action and leads to the belief that the self is what the self does. The fulfillment of the individual is attained in achievement, the motivation that propels Anglo-Americans and gives the culture its quality of being driven. In the United States in the Anglo-American culture, individual achievement is frequently valued above family relationships. This differs from most other cultures.

Many actions of people in Old World cultures can be understood as directed toward preserving and enhancing their particular positions within the social structure, whereas considerations about substantial progress and improvement are secondary in importance, if present at all. Indifference to personal achievement can also be found among immigrant people for whom the attitude has little relation to the economic conditions in which they live. It reflects their perception of the self and of the world as well as their concepts of motivation and of fate.

5. Competition
Competition is the primary technique or practice among Anglo-Americans for motivating members of a group and some have seen it as a basic emphasis in Anglo-American culture. Competition in attaining the reward, be the reward material gain or recognition, is another form of motivation of Anglo-Americans. They really like to get ahead be it in business or in play. Competition is encouraged in the youth even from their earliest Little League games through grade school, high school, and college. Being the league champion, the World Series Champions, or wearing the championship ring of the Super Bowl may be the basis for competing and achieving by winning.

For people of other cultures, saving face is more important and dependency on others is desirable. They will not accept competition among members of the group with the same enthusiasm as Anglo-Americans. For example, many African American and Mexican-American students are more likely to experience academic success in cooperative rather than in competitive learning environments. Yet the typical school culture is highly competitive, and students of color may experience failure if they do not figure out the implicit rules of the school culture (Banks, 1999). Many do figure out the rules and do accept and excel in the competitive world.

Anglo-Americans show some affiliation tendencies, but they are diluted in contrast to the strong social and territorial bonding found in affiliations in the Hispanic or Asian world. Both conformity and individuality can be found in Asian and Hispanic societies where the individual is perceived in terms of upwardly mobile qualities. The individual works to survive, but not to amass wealth, which, like land, is perceived as inherent in nature. This is in contrast to Anglo-Americans.

6. Personal Relationships
Many personal relationships among Anglo-Americans are marked by friendliness and informality. Anglo-Americans can have many acquaintances but have a much harder time forming deep and lasting friendships. The term "friend" to Anglo-Americans stands for anyone from a passing acquaintance to a lifetime intimate. The nature of the relationship between two people is more precisely defined in many societies outside the United States than it is among Anglo-Americans. The caution with which social relations are handled in the United States, so as to avoid obligations, is in direct contrast with conventions in most parts of the world. Friends may be limited to specific classes of persons instead to those involved in different activities. Friends in the Asian countries do not typically include parents, unlike the practice often met among Anglo-Americans.

In Anglo-American cultures, gifts are given only at certain times (birthdays, Christmas, weddings and anniversaries) and frequently the gift may be given anonymously. In other cultures, the Anglo-American convention of anonymity in giving gifts is often seen to deprecate the meaning of the act. If the gift does not inconvenience or deprive the donor, it has less meaning for the recipient. Quite often, presents are brought to a family or friend when being visited. There may be another gift left when leaving after the visit. A social act is seen as the fulfillment of an obligation or a duty that requires no verbal acknowledgment.

7. Equality
In the Anglo-American world, people are credited to be of value just because they are human. This may be a result of the U.S. Constitution stressing, "All [people] are created equal." The reality is this cultural value of equality is restricted in its application. In certain areas of the nation, it has not been fully extended to some racial and ethnic groups, particularly the African-American. Also, not all people are seen to have equal rights and obligations, not all are presumed to be of equal talent and ability. Some may be created more equal than others.

“Look at me when I am talking to you,” may be a comment frequently heard in an Anglo-American household or school because not looking at a person could be considered a slight or a sign of disrespect. In Hispanic or Asian communities, children are taught not to look at adults as a sign of respect, respecting the inequality of age. Another example of differences in equality is revealed in the close proximity of persons. One example is shown with the difficulty of the Asian American and of all peoples for whom “saving face” is important. This condition of “saving face” contrasts with Anglo-American assumptions and values ranged around the idea of confrontation: the face-to-face event. An Anglo-American may be “in your face” if there is a question of rights are involved. In some other situations, when the Anglo-American backs away, the Latin or Arab may feel that he is being treated with aloofness, not hostility. In other cultures, however—Thai, Japanese—it is felt that the Anglo-American often stands too close during a conversation.

The acceptance of unequal potentialities is tempered by the typical Anglo-American belief that in any groups there are people of ability and leadership potential. This can be shown in the following example. Schniedewind and Davidson (2000) reveal that homogeneously grouping students may limit a teacher‘s expectations in a class where all students were reading an engaging, multicultural novel. They observed a teacher assigned those students alleged to be most advanced to a homogeneous cooperative group to discuss ethical dilemmas related to race and class (this is the teacher‘s perception, which may have been based on ethnicity). The teacher assigned other students, who could have contributed important ideas about these issues from their own life experiences, to cooperative groups that merely reviewed the book‘s factual information. The teacher presumed the second group had nothing to contribute to the other homogeneous group. What rich brew of perspectives and feelings could have emerged had all the students been heterogeneously grouped.

III. Different Cultures in America

So far, the discussion has been showing the difference between the predominately American culture and that of those who live in another country or who come to live here in America. A description of some of the immigrant cultures is warranted.

1. African-American Cultural Patterns
Palmer (1998) states one of the first points to recognize in tracing the African roots of African-American culture is that enslaved Africans sold to North America came from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. About 25 percent came from ethnic groups from the Congo-Angola region. About 23 percent came from ethnic groups from an area known as Nigeria, Togo, and Gabon. About 16 percent came from the Gold Coast. Regardless of where they came, all of these people brought with them their own ideas about life, their own cultures, their own cosmology, different languages; they worshiped different gods and had different ways of socializing their children. So once Africans crossed the Atlantic, a major problem that they confronted was how to forge, so to speak, a oneness, how to create some common ground out of this very diverse and heterogeneous background—how were they to form a culture from groups of tribes who may have been warring back in Africa.

In spite of the cultural differences, there were some basic cultural understandings, that is, Africans shared some very broad principles. Almost all Africans believed in a Supreme Being, or Supreme God, and several lesser gods. Many came from sectors that we would consider matriarchal, many practiced polygamy. In tracing roots to Africa one must be careful about generalizations, because Africa consisted of, even today, many different cultures, each with its own traditions, values and ways of doing things. Africans share many cultural elements, but with enormous variations (Palmer).

African-American culture is a people-oriented rather than a thing-oriented culture. It places an important emphasis on humanism as evidenced in the family environment. Smith (1981) has reported that despite the negative Anglo-American association with children born out of wedlock, few African-American women give their children up for adoption. Instead, within this minority community, children are treated usually with little distinction regarding the legitimacy or illegitimacy of their birth, even though out-of-wedlock pregnancies are not condoned.

Children are taught at a very early age that no child is an adult and that they must be able to differentiate adult verbal roles from those appropriate for children. The discussion of family matters with outsiders is considered to be a violation of family ethics; what goes on in the family is to stay within the family.

An important cultural heritage of the African-American family has been its customary de-emphasis on rigid, sex-linked roles. Both men and women may share in household responsibilities, the caring of children, and work outside the home. African American men are less inclined to insist that their wives adhere to strict sex-linked roles. In many cases, family survival is dependent on the income of husband and wife (Smith, 1981).

Traditionally, religion has also constituted a part of African-American family life. Parents have tended to teach their children that a strong faith in God will see them through their difficult moments. Thus, it is in the church that one should explore his or her deepest thoughts and psychological stresses. African-Americans have tended to believe that eventually everything will be worked out for the better. This sentiment is expressed in the phrase "what goes around comes around." In other words, what you put out eventually comes back to you. It is believed that God will eventually punish Anglo-American people for their misdeeds to African-Americans.

Church is very important to African-American families whose values are directly or indirectly derived from some religious doctrine. Church activities and talents are used to reinforce self-esteem and can be an effective joining strategy in working with families with active church members. In the Baptist church, an African-American family finds a complete support system. Many African-American men and women have had little outlets for their leadership and creative talents; the church has provided a forum of expression. For example, a father of a family might have a menial job during the week but hold a position of considerable responsibility such as a deacon or trustee in his church.

Christianity flourished in the post-emancipation period of the United States in African-American development. In African-American culture, enormous and very strong African religious elements survived. Muslims as well as traditional African beliefs survived. But the important thing about the African-American past is that despite the fact that they and others in the disaster are buffeted, debased, and mistreated in a variety of ways, Black people have never been vanquished. Slaves were never defeated psychologically. They found ways and opportunities to maintain their psychic strength and sanity (Perry, 1999).

African-American Catholic culture was born when African traditional worldviews and values met those of Catholic Christianity in the New World. In the African worldview, all creation is sacred because of its origin and relationship with God. The community is central to the identity and development of the human person. The African worldview is summed up as "to be human is to belong to the whole community." Individual identity is forged within the context of the extended family or community comprised of God, creation, the ancestors and one‘s mother, father, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles and all other members of the community (Phelps, 2000).

Perry (1999) points out the most poignant part of the African-American odyssey was the ability of Africans to survive under the difficult circumstances of slavery and to manifest a lot of internal strength, and a lot of resolve. Though not unscarred, they walked away able to begin the process of making freedom work. That ability is probably the greatest root of African-American culture.

2. Asian-American Cultural Patterns
Among the many determinants of Asian-American identity, the cultural influences (values, norms, attitudes, and traditions) are of considerable importance. Cultural impact is clearly demonstrated in looking at Asian (i.e., Chinese, Japanese, and Indonesian) Americans, where remnants of their cultural values collide with European-American values. Because the primary family is generally the socializing agent for its offspring and because parents interpret appropriate and inappropriate behavior, a description of traditional Asian families leads to a greater understanding of their cultural values. Every member of the kinship group strives to adhere to the unwritten stipulations that an Asian-American draws various forms of support from the individual‘s relatives and they in turn reciprocate in a manner that has sanctioned patterns.

According to Sue (2007, 1983), the roles of family members are highly interdependent. Deviations from traditional norms governing behavior are suppressed to keep the family intact. Independent behavior that might upset the orderly functioning of the family is discouraged. The family structure is arranged so conflicts are to be minimized; each member has a particular role to play that does not interfere with that of another. If a person has feelings, which might disrupt family peace and harmony, these feelings are to remain hidden from the family. Restraint of potentially disruptive emotions is strongly emphasized in the development of the Asian character; the lack of outward signs of emotions has given rise to the prevalent opinion among Westerners that Asians are "inscrutable."

The role of kinship in the Asian-American family is very important. It is necessary for the individual to establish a relationship with all relatives, whether near or far. Mendez (1984) stated, "Values, attitudes, and ideals acquired through learning and interaction within the family and household are reinforced, enriched, and further stabilized by kinsmen other than the immediate family members." The system as a whole is a means of socializing the individual and provides a means of communication that will guide and direct attitudes and behavior patterns.

In the Asian-American community, social living is based on the family, not on the individual. It is the family that shares the honor or bears the shame for an individual‘s actions. So, the family is supportive of its members, but it is also protective. The orphan and widow are assured that they have homes in which to live. Everyone‘s behavior is influenced by family considerations to the extent that an individual‘s success may be labeled a family success and a personal failure as a disgrace to the family and circle of kinsmen.

There are two strong attitudes are found in the Asian-American community regarding children. First, children are a gift from God to be desired and enjoyed both now and as an investment for old age. Secondly, children are born with traits and characteristics, and no form of education or training can change them (Mendez). Hence, blame for action is on heredity rather than behavior deficiencies. But shame is still experienced by the parents who supplied the genetic material that formed the child.

This concern of shame on the family and self can be further explained. Sue (1983) suggests that the inculcation of guilt and shame is the principal technique used to control behavior of family members. Parents emphasize their children‘s obligation to family. If a child acts independently (contrary to the wishes of the parents), that child is told that she or he is selfish and inconsiderate and is not showing gratitude for all the good the parents have done. The behavior of the individual members of an Asian family is expected to reflect credit on the whole family. The Asian-American student will avoid situations that will hurt one‘s pride or self-respect and worth. The shy, submissive, and highly sensitive student can have hurt feelings and, if so, these students may be generally quiet and sulking. If these students are pushed, they can be violent. Closely related to self-pride is the use of a "go between," a person who can speak on behalf of another. In the case of approaching an adult, these children will use a mediator because children are not to mix with adults. Shon and Ja (1982) show that the web of obligation and fear of shame are frequently crucial parts of the life of the Asian-American and these feelings can affect their behavior and perceptions of the world. Highly developed feelings of obligation govern much of the traditional life of people from Asian cultures. Shame and loss of face are frequently used to reinforce adherence to a prescribed set of obligations.

Traditional Asian values emphasize reserve and formality in interpersonal relations, restraint and inhibition of strong feelings, obedience to authority, obligations to the family, high academic and occupational achievement, and use of shame and guilt to control behavior. These cultural values have a significant impact on the psychological characteristics of Asians in America. Asian-Americans exhibit Asian cultural values that are in sharp contrast to the Anglo-American‘s emphasis on spontaneity, assertiveness, and informality. Instead of frenetic activism, Asians practice love of silence and contemplation. Instead of ecological destruction, they have closeness to nature, respect for life and compassion for all beings. Asian-Americans bring tolerance and peaceful coexistence, instead of racism and sexism; they also posit filial piety toward parents, elders and ancestors rather than antifamily ethos. In spite of regional and national differences, these traits seem to be common to Asian-Americans. These traits are developed in the Catholic Church in America. Among Asian-Americans, the largest number of Catholics is found among Filipinos, Vietnamese, and Koreans. There is no generic "Asian" but only very distinct Asian ethnic and national groups comprised of individuals. Being Asian and Catholic brings something to the Catholic church and America (Phan, 2000)

Because of socialization in well-defined roles, there is a tendency for Asians to feel more comfortable in structured situations and to feel uncomfortable in ambiguous ones. As a result, they may tend to withdraw from social contacts with those outside their ethnic group or family. Three different reactions to this stress may result. A person may remain allied to the values of the Asian culture; the person may become over-Westernized and reject Asian ways; or the person may attempt to integrate aspects of both cultures that are functional to one‘s own identity. The ethnically conscious Asians on many college campuses are advocating the latter mode of adjustment. In an attempt to raise group pride, Asian-Americans are actively exploring and challenging the forces in a White society that has served to shape and define their identity. Instead of merely accepting the model of the Anglo-American as being the accepted way of doing things, maybe there are other legitimate modes from which all people can benefit.

3. Latino-American Cultural Patterns
The mixed heritage of the Spanish, Mexicans, and indigenous natives remains predominant among today‘s Mexican-Americans. The generic term Hispanic is only used in the United States. This term represents all Spanish-speaking peoples from Mexico, South America, etc. The Spanish conquistadors, all men, intermarried with the indigenous people of Mexico and this mixture created the Mexican population. The Hispanic population of the Southwestern United States is 86 percent Mexican in origin. Sixty percent of all Hispanics living in the United States are of Mexican origin and 85 percent of all Mexican-Americans reside in major metropolitan areas, usually in the major cities; in fact, only 4.6 percent of Mexican-Americans labor as farmworkers.

Mexican-Americans have a more continuous interaction with their original homeland having first generation immigrants continually coming into the United States and many who have settled here visit their homeland frequently. These first generation community members constantly reinforce traditional values. The rate and direction of acculturating change are thus greatly influenced and cause some cultural values to remain unchanged (Becerra). The role of family in the Mexican-American culture is very important. It is necessary for the individual to establish a relationship with all relatives, wherever they are found, either here in the United States or back in Mexico. Values, attitudes, and ideals acquired through learning and interaction within the extended family are reinforced, enriched, and further balanced out by other members than the immediate family. This arrangement as a whole is a means of socializing everyone and provides a means of communication that will guide and direct attitudes and behavior patterns.

Becerra further states that there are three main characteristics of the Mexican-American family. These are 1) male dominance (machismo), 2) a rigid sex and age grading so an older person orders the younger and men dominant women and 3) a strong familial orientation. Even with this dominate male role, it is the mother who is the very prominent person in the Mexican family.

In the Mexican-American community, social living is based on the family, not on the individual. As in the Asian family, it is the family that shares honors or bears shame for an individual‘s actions. So the family supports its members, but it also protects its members, even to the extent that even orphans and widows have homes in which to live. All behavior is influenced by family considerations to the extent that an individual‘s success may be considered a family success and a personal failure would be considered a disgrace to the family and relatives. All family members strive to adhere to the tacit conditions that a Mexican-American draws support from the individual‘s relatives and they in turn act accordingly in a manner that has been approved.

The Chicano movement, according to Becerra (1988), gave a mainstream political power to the Mexican-American both in the Southwest and the Midwest. The mid-1960s gave rise not only to the civil rights and Black movements but also the Chicano movement. Chicanos, who tend to be the younger family-producing Mexicans, are upwardly mobile. They are more interested in having their children learn and grasp what they can intellectually.

Catholicism plays a very important part in the lives of the Hispanic-Americans. Hispanic Catholicism is a religion of the home – religion casera. The main source of religious enrichment and continuity has been the religion centered at the home altar, which creates a sacred space in every home. Hispanic-Americans have an appreciation for the presence of God in daily life and a deep awareness of how the sacred penetrates every dimension of life. They celebrate great fiestas, gathering family and friends, building community and family life. They are very devotional; popular devotions are novenas, votive candles, holy cards, the rosary and other devotions to Jesus and Mary (Elizondo, 2000).

Today‘s Mexican-American family is a unique culture in American society in that it is fully characterized by neither the Mexican culture nor the American culture - it maintains elements of both. The social and economic pressures of American life have modified the Mexican family, yet the proximity of the Mexican border provides a continual influx of Mexican nationals that serves to maintain the familial and emotional ties to Mexico and to enhance the Mexican cultural values.

This blending is not new to the Mexicans, who, when the Spanish padres asked why the Aztecs did not renounce their religion and culture and convert wholeheartedly to Catholicism and Spanish culture during the spiritual conquest of Mexico in the early 1500s, the Aztecs responded with the metaphor that they were nepantla or in the middle. They stated that they would answer neither to one faith nor the other and that they were going to embrace aspects of Spanish culture while at the same time retaining some of their ancient customs, values, and traditions. This middle or in-between status can also be applied to a sociopolitical location that is not a stage en route to another position. In short, a person is nepantla. In many respects Mexican-Americans represent a nepantla political community in the United States in that they both accommodate and resist certain aspects of US political society while at the same time retaining some aspects of their Mexican-American political, cultural, and social heritage and worldview. Furthermore, they also tend to be somewhere between African-American and Anglo-American on their political but not necessarily moral and social views (Espinosa, Elizondo, Miranda, 2003). There is the new culture that Atkinson, Morten, and Sue (1963) speak of as a synergistic culture where the whole is greater than the parts.

4. Hawaiian-American and Pacific Islander Cultural Patterns
Many of the different island nations follow their Asian ancestry in that the culture is based on family relations and family-owned lands. Polynesians and Hawaiians live communally; all are family and are taught to respect the land and the people. There is also the Asian feeling about bringing shame on the family name. (Some cultures have been influenced by the Asian or the American culture either by immigration or by being conquered.)

Before going further, knowledge of who represents this group may be in order. The Pacific Islands are composed of American Samoa, Cook Islands, Easter Island, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam (and the other Northern Mariana Islands), Hawaiian Islands, Indonesia, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Midway Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Palau, Papua, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Solomon Islands, Taiwan, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Western Samoa. From the different journeys of exploration, Asians, the Spanish and the Portuguese influenced many of these island nations.

Pacific Islanders are a very religious people; they have a great reverence for nature and have welcomed different missionaries into their islands and cultures. Catholics and Mormons have greatly influenced the peoples and cultures of the Pacific Islands. Asians and Pacific Islanders have immigrated to the United States. These people trace their roots from various countries of Asia and the Pacific Islands. Their presence has profound and extensive implications for every facet of life in both the American society and the American Catholic Church (Phlan).

Hawaiian-Americans are very similar to other Polynesians and Asians; Hawaiians live communally; all are ‘ohana (family) and are taught to respect the land and the people. Shame is a cultural experience; this concern of shame is explained as sensitivity especially in front of others or in public. The youth will avoid situations that will hurt one's pride or self-respect and worth.

Aloha ‘aina (love for the land), malama aina (taking care of the land), kokua (helping), laulima (working as one with many hands); all are values associated with the people and their ‘aina.

Ancient Hawaiians lived communally, sharing fish from the sea and kalo (taro) from the lo’i (irrigated terrace). Tradition teaches the Hawaiians to respect the land, the people and the trust that keeps the ahupua (land division) system productive. Productive lands bring times of leisure, arts and crafts.

Being pono means to behave in a proper manner, to be just, to do right. Understanding pono is one way to describe the way that they live their lives. Hawaiians practice this concept when something was not right they would correct the problem, so that everything could be pono again. Some Hawaiians feel the pono is still lacking (Hui Na‘auao, 1992) in that their queen was denied her right to rule by the United States government. This is the basis of some Hawaiian groups wanting to cede from the U.S.A. They are actively exploring this issue and challenging forces in America, which have served to change their identity from their original Hawaiian.

From a multicultural approach, the sovereignty and self-determination movements of today are attempts to raise native Hawaiian pride. Hawaiians are investigating the forces that have served to shape and define their current identity. Hawaiians are experiencing the feeling of discontent and discomfort with the Anglo-Americans held in the resistance and immersion stage in the Minority Identity Development model proposed by Atkinson, Morten, and Sue. The Hawaiian attitude toward self is concerned with a basis of self-appreciation. The Polynesian and Hawaiian groups are actively exploring their ancestries and the American influences that have greatly shaped their identities.

IV. Conclusion

Marianist educators would do well to be aware of their ethnic backgrounds and the backgrounds of those with whom they work. This knowledge will assist in working with persons who come from other cultures. Knowledge of some of these other cultures will favorably influence how Marianists assist all peoples in their development as wholesome Americans regardless of their ethnicity. Using a broad variety of role models, samples of different literatures, and examples from many different cultures will give all knowledge from where all Americans have come and that all have something to contribute to the class, the school, and the nation. A broader understanding of multicultural education may be developing and its direction is given to conjecture. The need to address all the students who are in the classes of the Marianist schools is becoming greater as the nation moves to greater diversity.

In America, prejudice runs deep and dies hard. It is nurtured by generations of "hand-me-down" hatreds. Much of this prejudice is based on ignorance. It has become increasingly clear that the crises observed between African-Americans and Anglo-Americans and between haves and the have-nots in the broad American society are re-enacted daily. An animosity is also found between some Anglo-Americans and Mexican Americans. Many Anglo-Americans resent that Mexican-Americans do not speak English. There is little thought given to the fact that many of the Anglo-Americans can only speak English, even though the Untied States is moving to a nation in which there is no major ethnicity.

In addition to the language situation, knowing that Mexican-Americans are family oriented, teachers, using collaborative learning techniques, will give some students a chance to excel and model this form of learning to their Anglo-American classmates. Frequently, competition is a motivation and this may not be accepted well by either Mexican-Americans or Asian Americans. Competition is very well accepted and encouraged in the Anglo-American culture.

The forces that have historically estranged African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans and Anglo-Americans that is, the lack of trust, the prejudices surrounding cultural differences, the subtle and the not-so-subtle forms of racial discrimination have infiltrated all areas of the American scene. If teachers and ministers can remove this prejudice—this bias, this lack of knowledge, and assist all individuals in our country regardless of ethnic background, the United States of America can really reflect a nation of people who are created equal.

If Marianists are committed to making Christ present to every age and culture, having knowledge of some of the cultures found in the United States will assist in ministry and vocation efforts. By acknowledging different cultures as gifts to all and realizing that we all have gifts and talents that can be shared and that these gifts of God differ according to the favor bestowed on each culture, perhaps the next generation can be the architects who will transcend ignorance and bind the world's people into brotherhood/sisterhood and an abiding peace. This progression may then be extended to other peoples, countries and cultures. They have to be carefully taught, but taught to love one another. Remember, as Father Chaminade taught, we teach by every word, gesture and action.

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